November 30, 2008

See, We Keep Telling Ya: Fred Phelps is God’s Gift to Gays

It’s been quite the news up north — Fred “God Hates Fags” Phelps was scheduled to picket a Vancouver production of The Laramie Project — and we haven’t mentioned it because… well, that’s just what Fred does — and if we covered every belch from the bowels of the Westboro Baptist Church, this would be the 24/7 Westboro Baptist Blog.

About the only thing I have to say about this latest dust-up that I wish our Canadian friends would stop trying to prevent the Freddie Family from doing their thing, partly because I hate any chilling effect on free speech (no matter how vile), and mostly because every time the Phelps clan makes an appearance, they’re only helping the cause of the Eeeeeeeevil Sodomite Agenda.

And that’s why I’m mentioning it now — because one observer picked up on just that point: While Freddie failed to show, the brouhaha garnered much attention and support for the play’s venue (and, we expect, for the play itself):

Anti-gay extremists spark support for gay theatre

Members of Fred Phelps’ famed Westboro Baptist Church were conspicuously absent last night from their planned picketing of The Laramie Project at the Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive.

A large crowd of the play’s supporters gathered outside the venue, ready for a confrontation with the evangelical Christian group. They yelled, honked and waved Pride flags, but the confrontation never came. …

Fighting Chance Productions, a local theatre company, opened the play last night at Havana Theatre despite threats that the Westboro Baptist Church would picket the event. The theatre group asked the federal government to prevent the church’s members from crossing the border in order to spread hate propaganda.

According to the church’s press release, the play was targeted because “God hates fags and fag-enablers: ergo, God hates the Havana Theatre, Canada, Vancouver and all and everybody having anything to do with spreading sodomite lies…”

Despite the assertion that they were supposedly all going to hell, a small crowd of cheering protesters appeared to be having quite a nice time, listening to speeches from Vancouver MLA’s Spencer Herbert and Shane Simpson, municipal politicians Ellen Woodsworth and Jane Bouey, Rev. Markus Duenzkofer of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, as well as the cast of The Laramie Project.

Ironically, the failed actions of the extremist church brought together many members of the gay community, as well as giving the play enough publicity for a completely sold-out run. In light of this, many of the assembled supporters of the play joked that the real “fag-enabler” was Fred Phelps himself.

See? Ya gotta love the Phelpses. I do!

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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